Tuesday Trail Run

April 11, 2006

I found out yesterday that the gym would be closed (the men's lockers to be specific). It motivated me to get up earlier and do a trail run this morning. I have adopted an abandoned rail road track that will someday be converted into a bike path. Hopefully the qualities that make it so fun to run on now will not be lost.

There is loose gravel and lots of spread out tree bark and other soft materials which make running a complete joy. There is always the fear of a twisted ankle but from what I've read and experienced this the opposite of what is happening.

Running on this uneven surface creates a tough workout. As you run, one has to use more energy to propel forward. As you're air borne, landing on the soft uneven surface (which feels like a very thick rug), strengthens the lower leg muscles and smaller muscles in the ankle area. I have done this four times now and can't wait to go do it again. When I first began I was apprehensive about my footing. I'm a little more relaxed now and able to concentrate on my surroundings. The attached photo was taken this morning while doing my warm up walk before running. I can't believe I had not noticed this before. I'm now going back with tripod and bigger DSLR to photograph the cacti. I found some very interesting patterns, plus some flowers soon to decorate the prickly beast.

Among other things I wore my heart rate monitor and my perception of how having a hard workout was not unfounded. I hit an average of 130 bpm and a max of 160 bpm. I burned 899 calories in about 45 minutes (take 20% off, heart rate error, body weight etc.). I had a wonderful breakfast after that and now I'm just planning for the next run. I'm glad I brought my camera with me. This will be the beginning of a good relationship with the surrounding flora.